by A. American
Two Stryker fighting vehicles flanked the gates to the base as well as a number of large Hesco barriers preferred by today’s military. These pre-formed concrete wall sections could be interlocked to form a solid wall. And here they did just that. We had to zigzag our way up to the gates as the Hescos prevented a direct approach.
Dalton pulled up to the gate and stopped. An MP in full battle rattle leaned in when Dalton opened the door. “First Sergeant Mitchell here to see General Fawcett.”
“We’ve been expecting you, Top. Glad to see you made it without any issues. I’ll have someone escort you to the General.” The MP looked at Dalton and said, “Please turn off your headlights.” and he promptly stepped away, shouting orders.
Dalton closed the door and looked at Sarge, asking, “You haven’t used the radio all day. How did they know when to expect us?”
“Cause I told ‘em when we’d be here. We were maintaining radio discipline.”
“Why’d they have us turn the headlights off?” I asked.
“So, no one can see us in the dark. Good way for aircraft to mark you as a target.”
I rocked my head against the bulletproof window. The old man never ceased to amaze me. He did some things as if by magic. Just made them happen. I guess he was always operating behind the scenes. But that would make sense. An NCO of his rank would be used to such methods.
There were no lights on anywhere. The base was blacked out. But since it wasn’t fully dark, Dalton could easily see the truck in front of him. We weaved through the base for a while before coming to typical government-looking buildings with a brick façade. The truck in front of us stopped and the driver quickly got out. Everyone piled out and started stretching. Sarge told them to hang out by the trucks and told Ted and me to follow him.
We went inside the building and down a hallway past an open door. It appeared to be a conference room crowded with people leaning over a large table covered with maps. A large map of the state of Florida was projected on a screen at the head of the table as well. I noted the General was there, but we weren’t invited into this particular meeting.
Instead, we were led to a small reception room of sorts and asked to take a seat. Sarge immediately spotted a coffee pot sitting on a small cabinet and helped himself without asking. Ted did likewise, and I figured what the hell, when in Rome, and poured myself one as well and sat back down.
“What? No training wheels?” Sarge asked.
“It’s been a long day. Shouldn’t your old ass be tired?” I asked.
“I am. That’s why I’m drinking this,” Sarge replied, holding the Styrofoam cup up.
I spent a minute marveling at the cup in my hand. It’d been a while since I’d seen one. Something so common, so nondescript. But at the moment, it was kind of nostalgic.
“It’s the cup, isn’t it?” Ted asked, apparently reading my thoughts.
I looked up and nodded. “Yeah. Just trying to remember when the last time I saw one was.”
Sarge looked at his and said, “This thing? This ain’t nothing. I’d drink coffee from my boot right now.”
I let out a loud breath. “You’re missing the point.”
“And just what is the point?”
“When was the last time you saw one of these?” Ted asked.
Sarge shrugged. “Hell, if I know. I don’t remember the last time I saw dog shit either.”
That got a laugh from Ted and me both. And the more we laughed, the more we laughed. Until even Sarge was laughing. When the General finally walked in the room, he stopped in his tracks and looked at all of us. No one bothered to get up. I didn’t expect Sarge to, but thought Ted might. But he kept his ass firmly in his seat.
“Do I want to know?” Fawcett asked.
Sarge held the cup up and replied, “Cups. Just cups.”
“And dog shit,” I added.
Fawcett shook his head and replied, “You guys have been in the wilderness too long. Come on in,” he added as he went into his office.
We followed him into the office where I slumped into a chair in the corner while Ted and Sarge took the seats in front of the desk. Fawcett sat down behind his desk and stared at it for a minute. It was covered with paper. Forms, images, maps, all sorts of things were spread out. He rubbed his temples. The man looked tired. More than that. He looked drained, totally consumed. He was obviously overworked, and it was starting to show.
He looked up and smiled. “How are your folks fairing, Linus?”
“We’re holding our own. It’s harvest time, so we’re bringing in crops. Things are starting to look up.” Sarge shifted in his seat. “Or it was, that is.”
Fawcett looked back at the desk and nodded grimly. “Yeah, that was unfortunate.” Looking back up, he continued. “It was a calculated risk. We knew when we hit the Chinese, they would retaliate.”
“What did we lose there?”
“A lot. But not as much as we would have had we not moved most of the resources. But it was still a tremendous loss.”
Sarge nodded as Fawcett spoke. “Yes, it was. What’s it look like on the ground in the Tampa area now?”
“It’ll be uninhabitable for a hundred years,” Fawcett replied. He then looked at his desk, sorting through the papers. Finding one, he held it up and read from it. As he did, he said, “Tell me about the run-in with the armor.”
“We were out doing a recon and came across them sitting on top of an overpass. They had a good field of view. It was the perfect spot. We hit one with a Goose, but took a round into the ass of one of our trucks.”
Fawcett looked back at the sheet in his hand. “One KIA?”
Sarge nodded.
“Do you know who they were?”
“Cubans.”
Fawcett nodded. “Yeah, figured as much. The Russians are teaming up with them. Fortunately, there aren’t that many Russians here. It’s a long ride for them.”
“One is too many,” Ted added.
Fawcett dropped the paper to his desk. “Well, there shouldn’t be too many more. The Navy has started sinking any ships approaching Cuba. The USS Albany and Helena are down there, wreaking havoc on shipping.”
“What are those?” I asked.
Fawcett looked at me, smiled and nodded. “Good to see you again, Sheriff. They’re Los Angeles-class fast-attack subs. Hunter-killers.”
“So, what do you need from us?” Sarge asked.
Fawcett sat back in his chair and ran his fingers through his hair, that was probably grayer than he wanted it to be. Letting out a breath, he picked up a file folder and opened it. “Top, we’ve identified a few sites we’d like your people to prosecute. They’re staging areas. We know there are Russian and Cuban forces there.” He looked up, “But, as you can imagine, we’re spread a little thin.”
“Why don’t you just bomb them with planes or drones?” I asked.
“All air assets are tied up flying CAP. Combat Air Patrol,” he added, as though I didn’t understand.
“I know what it means.”
He brushed off my reply and continued. “We just can’t support those kinds of operations. Only time a plane is used in a ground attack mode is if we have troops in contact. And even then, it has to be an emergency. The days of the unlimited use of force are over. Simply put, we have to triage what’s more important. And at the moment, it’s making sure that unfriendly aircraft are not in the skies overhead.”
“Are we getting any support on that?” Sarge asked.
Fawcett nodded. “The Canadians are helping. They’ve stabilized their southern border that was affected and they’ve cranked up the aid now. We are literally getting tons of support from them every day. The Brits are helping as well, as are the Aussies. But that’s about it.”
“Sounds like a lot to me,�
�� I replied. Sarge shifted in his seat. I guess I was getting on his nerves, but I wasn’t done. “That’s good, General. Can you spare some for the poor people of Lake County? We need aid as well.”
Sarge swiveled in his chair and looked at me. But Fawcett was unfazed, “It’s ok, Top,” Fawcett said before turning his attention back to me. “Of course, Sheriff. We will give until it hurts. What sort of things do you need?”
I reached into my vest and pulled out a Wright in the Rain notebook and tore a page out. I’d made a list of things while sitting in the backseat. No doubt, I had missed things; but it was a long list. I handed the paper to Fawcett. He looked at it and his eyebrows went up.
“You know I can’t accommodate all this, right?”
I nodded. “Just give until it hurts, General.”
He nodded and a thin smile cracked his face. Picking up a radio on his desk, he made a call. “Jim, can you come in here, please?”
There was a terse reply and moments later, a man with gold oak leaves on a pressed uniform came in. Fawcett held out the list and said, “Jim, can you go to supply and see what we can do about the Sheriff’s shopping list?”
Taking the list, he replied, “Of course.” He looked at me and held a hand towards the door, “After you, Sheriff.”
“Take the truck, leave the MRAP here,” Sarge said as I got to the door. I nodded and followed Jim.
“Just follow me,” Jim said as we went outside. “Keep the headlights off.”
Jamie and Ian were standing beside the truck talking. “Let’s follow him,” I told Jamie.
I climbed up in the cab and sat in the middle seat and Jamie drove. She seemed to have a thing for driving. Maybe it was the novelty of it now. Jamie followed Jim’s Hummer as it wound its way through the base, eventually stopping at a large warehouse-type building. Jim stopped his truck and ran back to tell Jamie to back up to a loading dock on the side of the building. She did as instructed.
As she pulled the air brake on, she asked, “What’s this all about?”
Waiting for Ian to get out, I replied, “We’re going shopping.”
“Something you’re good at,” Ian joked as he opened the door.
“Really?” Jamie asked with a very serious look on her face. “That’s what I’m good at? Shopping? Shopping is what I’m good at?” Her head bobbed with every word.
The joke faded from his face and he half moaned, “I’m sorry.”
Jamie threw her door open and replied, “Oh, you just think you are now.” She jabbed a finger in his face, “But I can promise you, you will be.” She then jumped down from the truck.
Ian and I both looked at one another. “That woman is scary,” I said. “I fear for your safety.”
Ian nodded. “So do I.”
We walked through a side door and into a cavernous warehouse. The space was brightly lit and was bustling with activity. I looked around, curious about why I didn’t notice any light from the outside. There were windows high up on the walls and skylights in the ceiling, but all were covered to black them out.
Forklifts seemed to be everywhere, as well as people pulling pallet jacks around. The opposite side of the building from where we parked was a continuous line of large roll-up loading doors. At each one sat a large truck that was being loaded.
“I parked you on the unloading side. There are no deliveries coming in tonight. The events in Tampa have made it a little more difficult to get cargo here.”
Jamie looked at the pallet racks that went nearly to the ceiling and asked, “Where is all this stuff coming from?”
“Canada, England and Australia,” I replied.
Jim looked at me. “How the hell do you know that?”
“Fawcett told me.”
Jim nodded. “Oh, of course. But yeah, our allies have begun shipping aid. Canada of course sends the most. But Australia and England are sending considerable tonnage too.”
“What kind of stuff is here?” Ian asked.
Jim motioned for another man to join them. “This is Buck. This is his warehouse. Buck, can you share with them what’s in here?”
“All this is humanitarian aid. Food, hygiene, medical supplies. That kind of thing.”
Jim handed Buck the list, saying, “Here’s what they’re looking for.”
Buck looked at the list. “We have all this,” he looked up and asked, “There are no amounts here. How much are you looking for?”
“The general said you’d give until it hurts.”
“What’d you bring to carry all this?”
“A five-ton truck with a five-ton trailer,” Jamie said.
Buck shrugged, “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Anything we can do to help?” I asked.
“No, just stay out of the way. We’ll get it. There’s a breakroom back there. Go help yourselves.”
“Anyone for a cup of coffee?” I asked.
“Coffee?” Jamie asked as she turned and started towards the breakroom.
The breakroom was just what you’d expect. There were several people there, mainly civilians from the look of them. They watched us as we excitedly poured coffee and, to their utter amazement, each of our group grabbed a double handful of doughnuts before taking a seat.
Jamie’s eyes rolled back in her head as she took a bite of one she’d dunked in her coffee. “Oh my God,” She said. “I never thought I’d see another one of these.”
Ian stuffed an entire glazed doughnut in his mouth and replied, “Ah kna, fma naffer!” Blowing crumbs out as he tried to talk.
I took my time. I’d mixed creamer and sugar into my cup and luxuriously dunked the doughnut in and taken a bite. I savored every moment, every part of the act, dunking the pastry, then tapping it on the rim of the cup as a drop would fall back in. I took all of it in. Such a silly thing. But for me, it was the highest of treats.
A woman came and sat down at our table. She watched, smiling at us. I picked up another doughnut and dunked it. “They’re good, huh?” She said.
I nodded as I tapped it on the rim of the cup. “Yes, they are. I’m amazed to see them.”
“So was I the first time. I ate so many the first day, I got sick.”
Jamie wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and asked, “How long have you been here?”
“Almost a month. Where are you guys from?”
“Lake County. Down south,” Ian replied.
“You kind of look like you’re in the Army,” she said. Then she looked at me and added, “But then you don’t.”
I was looking down at my cup and glanced up at her. “I’m not,” then I pointed with the pastry across the table at Jamie and Ian, “but they are.”
“Kind of,” Jamie said.
“Kind of,” I added with a smile.
The woman nodded at me and said, “You some kind of cop or something?”
“Something like that.”
“He’s the Sheriff,” Ian clarified.
“I didn’t think there were any of those around now.”
“We’re an endangered species,” I replied, causing her to laugh.
“That’s funny. You here for supplies?”
Ian stuffed another doughnut into his mouth and nodded. He chewed it and tried to swallow the ball of dough, but something went wrong. His face contorted and he stretched his neck out. Picking up his coffee, he poured it into his mouth and worked his jaw. After a moment, the mass managed to find its way down his neck. With watering eyes, he said, “Damn. I better slow down. That one liked to have killed me.”
“Good,” Jamie replied, looking sideways at him as she swirled her cup.
“Look,” Ian replied wiping his eyes, “I said I was sorry. It was a joke. Cut me a break.”
“Mmm hmm.”<
br />
“How are things around here?” I asked the woman.
“They’re better now. The Army is providing a lot of supplies. It’s changed everything. We work here and can use our pay to buy other stuff.”
“What do they pay you with? I can’t imagine anyone taking dollars for anything. Where we come from, they’re useless.” I added.
She smiled shyly and reached into a pocket and pulled out a silver dollar. “Everyone uses these. They pay us with them too.”
“Well, that’s good to know. It’s real money, actually worth something.”
“What can you get with that?” Ian asked.
“A lot.” A devilish grin spread across her face. “You can buy about whatever you want,” her eyebrows bounced to convey just what she meant.
“You better find some silver dollars,” Jamie said to Ian.
I reached into my vest and pulled out a gold Maple Leaf. Holding it up, I asked, “What can I get for this?”
“Anything. And I do mean anything you want. Hell, you could buy a house with that. Why do you even have it? No one has enough change for a trade with one of those.”
I shrugged and put it away. “I had it before.”
“Oooh,” she said knowingly, “you’re one of those survivalists.”
“Something like that.”
She looked at her watch and said, “Well, I have to get back to work. It was nice talking to you.”
I waved at her, “Nice meeting you too.”
She then looked at Ian and smiled. “Try not to kill yourself with those doughnuts.”
Ian just looked down at his cup, afraid to make eye contact with her because Jamie was burning a hole through the woman’s head. “Nice chatting with you,” he replied.
She didn’t say anything to Jamie and Jamie made no attempt to speak either. Once she was out the door, I said, “Well that was fucking awkward.” Looking back and forth at them, I added, “Why don’t you two go somewhere and have make-up sex now. It’ll make the ride back a lot less tense.” I knew Jamie hated that kind of thing and I was really, really hoping Ian would take the bait. But he just looked into his cup, even as Jamie stole a glance at him.